Laws of Thermodynamics
Thermodynamics is the study of the inter-relation between heat, work and internal energy of a system. These three laws are,

First Law of Thermodynamics:
AKA:Law of Conservation of Energy
suggests that energy can be transferred from one system to another in many forms
it cannot be created or destroyed
total amount of energy available in the Universe is constant
relationship between energy and matter
E=mc2
energy and matter are interchangeable
Second Law of Thermodynamics:
Heat cannot be transfer from a colder to a hotter body
predicts that the entropy of an isolated system always increases with time
measure of the disorder or randomness of energy and matter in a system
Third Law of Thermodynamics:
if all the thermal motion of molecules (kinetic energy) were removed----state of absolute zero
Absolute Zero = 0 Kelvins = -273.15° Celsius
The Universe will attain absolute zero when all energy and matter is randomly distributed across space

external image thermo1.gif
external image thermo1.gif



Environmental Impact:
Wind Energy-
  • absolutely no air pollution
  • windmills take up a lot of land space
  • birds are electrocuted/collide with the machines created to produce wind energy
  • extremely noisy

Solar Energy-

  • absolutely no air pollution
  • health/safety hazards for workers that come into contact with them
  • solar power plants take up a lot of land space

Geothermal Energy-

  • produces air and water pollution
  • need a safe disposal place for hazardous waste and land subsidence
  • geothermal power plants require a large amount of water
  • creates large amounts of noxious fumes

Biomass-

  • air pollution
  • resource needs to be managed very carefully

Hydropower-

  • no air pollution or greenhouse gases produced
dams being built can cause huge changes in river’s ecosystems